Iron Sky

IRON SKY is the perfect example of a modern-day B-movie, an international collaboration boasting plenty of excellent special effects to back up an involved and engaging storyline. It's not often I watch a film and think "there's something I haven't seen before", but it happened with IRON SKY.

The opening sequence is elaborately staged and quite captivating, offering a much better menace than that of APOLLO 18 (which I also watched recently). From there on then the film builds in complexity, introducing multiple shades-of-grey characters who embark on a story filled with twists and surprises.

At the end of the day, IRON SKY is a film all about the visual effects, and they're excellent throughout. Whether you're looking for interstellar warfare, colonised cities in space or more earthly destruction, this movie has it. The CGI is faultless, adding to the impression that this is far more than your routine B-movie.

There's plenty of satire in the film, aimed not just at the obvious targets but at America too - the benefits of a Finnish/German/Australian production. Quite a few of the central performances are decent and the quirkiness never lets up for a moment. For once, IRON SKY is a concept movie with a real story to go with it.

As we have always feared, the Nazis have been hiding on the dark side of the moon since the end of WWII. Plotting their triumphant return to power, they have waited these many decades. When an American lunar mission happens upon the enormous, hidden Nazi fortress, it causes problems both on the moon and back on Earth.

In IRON SKY, much has changed since the Reich was booming on our planet, including an African American astronaut, a female President of the United States, and the UN transformed into a World Confederacy! The Fuhrer would be appalled! When a Nazi mission to Earth takes them to New York City, the real fun starts.

The best way to describe this movie would be to liken it to what Mel Brooks might have created in his prime. It lampoons racism, sexism, fascism, political idiocy, high fashion, etc., by being an utterly over the top satire thereof. Plus, it's very well made, in addition to being hysterically funny! The main characters are perfectly ridiculous, yet not annoyingly so. The acting / dialogue is mostly dead pan, making it far more effective than a more slapstick approach. The result is a crackpot sci-fi parody wrapped around a mega-spoof. Highly inventive and entertaining...

I saw the Iron Sky recently in a preview screening. And, I quite liked it.

For those that do not know, Iron Sky is a Sci-fi action comedy from a team of Finnish "independent" film makers lead by Timo Vuorensola as the director. Iron Sky tells a story about 'freaking space Nazis from the dark side of the moon coming back to earth'.

For what it is, the movie works fine. It's not a masterpiece of dramatic cinematic flavor on line with Citizen Kane or Pianist with some deep philosophical dialog. No, its more in the line of campy Nazisploitation and over-the top action, as one would come to expect. And as one would expect, the movie is absolutely ridiculous. It has its many fun moments and true laugh out loud scenes, specially made for those viewers who are into internet/computer/pop culture related stuff, which presence makes sense considering the guys who made this film are "self taught" young film makers who basically 'grew up' making movies of their own, and are the children of the Internets.

Iron Sky has a really good cast who deliver consistently strong performance throughout the film. With Udo Kier being my absolute favorite who sadly goes somewhat underused with his too old to care and strictly for business Nazi führer of the moon guy... (Oh well, I still have him as the Yuri in Red Alert 2.) Weirdly, Götz Otto being the go-to baddie of the movie, delivers somewhat dry and unnoteworthy performance. And I think it felt this way was because there was a subtlety in his acting which sadly vanishes under rest of the silliness in the film.

Now as expected from the guys who previously did the Star Wrek comedy films, they made absolutely brilliant CGI effects for Iron Sky. I rarely could tell which stuff were done with practical effects and which were done with CGI, which is a very good thing. There are many moments which I knew were definitely done with computers, but still were a blast to watch. Nothing there is jarring or unnecessary feeling, like in majority of the other CGI motion pictures of today.

Now there are some few shortcomings in the film of course, few minor stuff here and there, but also one bigger aspect that was quite difficult to overlook. And that is that the Iron Sky skips around, a lot. It felt like there were tons of shots missing from between the key scenes. You'll watch the characters do something and have it immediately cut to a later moment in time, or to a completely different scene all together. The movie leaves a lot for the viewers to fill in. That was not too difficult for me one I adjusted. It's a bit distracting, yes. But if you manage to push it past, you'll find interesting plot unfolding. Now while I had no difficulties following the movie, I can also see someone used to the regular Hollywood "tell it to the audience" type movies being lost with this film. While the important scenes needed for the plot are still very much present, the sudden jumps might leave the viewer lagging behind, you might get some whiplashes watching this film.

However, there is a very understandable excuse for that, which the director himself told us in the theater on the Q&A session after the film. And it's that way because they had to cut stuff from the script as they simply had no money to realistically do most of them. Iron Sky had a budget of only of 7 million Euros, which compared to other proper big movies, is nothing. They said that every scene they did had to be done in the way of "we'll shoot this if we get the money to do it". And considering that, it's amazing they managed as much as they did.

Iron Sky is a fun little movie that definitely differs from your average schlock. I'd recommend to watch it, if only for the sake of curiosity. (And ridiculous Nazis.)

And what about the the ending? Who wins? Oh, you'll have to watch the movie to find out. You might get a surprise. It might make you stop and think... I know it made me.

I saw the film yesterday in Oslo and I must say I thought it was exhilarating, fresh and different. It's also one of those films that you either love or hate, I do not think it is one that you can be indifferent to.

The German language adds a nice touch, and the way it is used helps a lot with creating a believable atmosphere to some scenes. The actors are doing a good job of portraying the stereotypes that they need in order for the humor to work. The humor is pleasantly free from political correctness. And there are many nice references throughout the film, so if you have been living in a cave (or on the moon) for the last seventy years, I doubt you will find it as funny as I personally did.

The CGI is stunning when at it's best. It is not perfect everywhere, but all in all it is quite convincing. The style can best be described as toned down and with natural colors that work very well for this film.

The story is funny if you let it stand on it's own and accept it for what it is. Let yourself be entertained. I am sure that if you have a very critical mindset when going to see this film you will probably find something to pick on. Things could probably be a bit better and more consistent in a + $100M film, but I do not think we would see this expressive freedom in a + $100M film...

The soundtrack was also well thought of and added the needed atmosphere trough the whole film. Not one tune seemed misplaced and I thought it was very impressive.

I liked Iron Sky a lot, and I would recommend it in a heartbeat. I believe this film has the potential to be the cult film of the year. And I think it will do well for itself on cinemas around the world.

To start with ... i found that movie to be entertaining. I never felt bored - or regretted watching it.

It is a comedy/satire but not as blunt (as in Saturday Night Live blunt) .. but sometimes more subtle (however - subtle in that context still means pretty much "in your face!")

Considering the low budget (actually i did not check the budget - i just assume) - it pulls off quite a high production value in terms of visuals as well as acting. The story itself is ridiculous and funny .. and the movie knows it.

7/10 for a good time watching that movie ... 9/10 if you are drunk.